In the midst of his recording career, Maguire had a featured role in the British TV series "Dangerfield", playing the son of the eponymous detective in 1995. The end of the decade saw Maguire, now no longer a cute baby-faced teen, emerge with a leaner and somewhat more dangerous look well-suited to the types of slick rogues he would find himself frequently and convincingly playing. 2000 saw him return to series television with a role as a dashing bachelor in the comedy "Sunburn", a type he would revisit in his US series television debut "Off Centre" (The WB, 2001- ). Here he played Euen, a decadent British womanizer who shows the ropes to Eddie Kaye Thomas' more neurotic American Mike. The show would introduce the actor to a new audience, one he would revisit in 2002, played the decidedly different-tempered "Prince Charming" in a TNT original romantic comedy TV-movie.
Having previously appeared with small supporting roles in features including 1992's "Waterland", Maguire made his feature starring debut in "Out of Depth", a 1999-lensed gritty independent drama released in Great Britain in 2001. Playing a young man from rough beginnings who turns his life around, Maguire proved himself a gifted actor, more than capably handling the emotions surrounding his self-made man's descent into the thug life after getting embroiled in a violent scheme of vengeance and drug pushing. Positive notices surrounded both the film and its star, and Maguire could hope for a bright future on the big screen in addition to his flourishing television career.